Pokemon Ranger Twilight Skies
by Skydepths
Summary: Follow Itami, a young Pokemon Ranger, as she comprises both joyous triumphs and bitter failures; all the while trying to cope with personal loss.


**- Prologue**

A portentous flash of lightning lit up the eastern horizon as a ten year old girl sprinted through the streets; her face very pale. Buildings crumbled all around her, and screaming townspeople jostled her about as they all ran for cover.

"Mom! Dad! Madelyn!" The young girl hollered, her voice rising above the unvarying clamour of the turmoil around her. "Where are you?"

She broke off with a gasp, as she made out a man in a bright red and white uniform running towards the Ranger HQ of Ashdell, seemingly to help the people inside.

The girl gave a cry of relief and started towards the small, well-known structure. Her father was alright. Thank goodness.

But as soon as the thought entered her mind, a large shape rose up above the build. It tipped its head to the heavens, and gave a mighty roar. The foundation under the HQ suddenly crumbled, and the whole thing exploded in a ball of flames.

The girl was thrown back hard against a stone wall, and a white-hot crack of pain went down her spine. For a heartbeat, she just lay there, grimacing and breathing heavily. Then, she slowly got to her feet and walked to the wreckage. Huge slabs of stone were sticking up out of the ground, and the rubble had been thrown throughout the area. There was no way anyone could have survived.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a smaller chunk of marble move slightly. She started, and dashed over to move it aside. But she sighed at what she saw. It wasn't her father; it was just a boy about her age. She grasped his wrist and began to pull him out of the debris. It was a painstakingly slow process, as the girl's legs were shaking so terribly that she could barely stand, and that she didn't want to hurt the boy any further.

Once she was done, she set him down on the ground and peered into his face. It wasn't familiar to her; he must have either been new to Fiore, or just on a vacation.

_Well, some vacation this would be. _The girl thought bitterly. Many people from other regions liked to come to Ashdell for a holiday, since it was right by the ocean and had very good weather.

All of a sudden, the boy groaned softly and opened her eyes. "L-Lavina?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I'm not Lavina. The name's Itami. Are you alright?" She helped him to his feet.

The boy blinked a few times, and staggered a bit to the side.

Itami caught him by the shoulders, and righted him. "Careful..."

He met her eyes, and tried to smile. "I-I'm okay..." he assured her.

She nodded in satisfaction. If he could stand and speak, he would live.

Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from nearby, and a fresh wave of screaming overcame them.

Itami whirled around to see yet another explosion. "Listen, kid. You seriously need to get out of here."

He merely looked at her. "What about you?"

With some difficulty, she cracked a grin. "I'll be fine. Just...keep running, and don't look back, okay?"

The boy nodded, and Itami gave his hand a final squeeze and started to run in the direction of the shouting.

"Wait!"

She turned. "Yeah?"

The boy gave her a crooked half smile. "Thanks for saving me, Itami. And, my name's Keith."

She laughed, despite the tedious situation. "Nice to meet you, Keith." And with that, the girl turned and dashed off into the mayhem.

"Itami!" A familiar voice reached her ears a few minutes later, and she turned to see her mother hurrying towards her.

"Mom!" Itami gasped, racing to her side. "I-It's Dad...he got caught in an explosion!"

Her mother pursed her lips, and pushed an unconscious Madelyn into her older daughter's arms. "Itami...take care of your sister."

The girl stared at her for a moment, her blue eyes wide, before nodding and giving a weak smile. "Okay, Mom."

And without another word, the archeologist turned and disappeared into the disarray, never to be seen again.

**Urgh...fail. Sorry about the terrible quality. I'm usually much better than this...**

**Anyhow, Chapter 1 should be here soon. :3**


End file.
